Is Surface Rust Part Of Owning a Truck?

I recently purchased a 2010 Tacoma DC 4x4 Off Road and this is my first truck. I've been reading a lot of the rust threads here and it's made me a little paranoid since I'm already seeing a small amount of surface rust on my leaf springs, tow hook, and rear diff. I've only had my truck for 2 weeks, but it's probably been sitting for months before I bought it.

I've seen surface rust on new Ford F150s and Dodge Rams. Is this just part of owning a truck? Is this something I need to worry about?

 

not really,get some flat black spray paint and touch up the areas

 

Only 2 weeks old? Take it back to the dealer. Get it fixed since its still under warranty. Mines a 2006 and I havent had that many issues.

 

Yeah, I have had my truck three months now, been under there twice with rattle can in that time. I would say that you will need to spray the frame at least twice a year for regular maintenance. Mine was let go by previous owner, thats why i did it twice in three months. Im good now. But I plan on doing twice a year.

 

Fixed under what warranty? The bumper to bumper is not going to cover spot rusting on the frame and the corrosion warranty will not cover it as it has not rust through causing a hole.


I think people are way over reacting to the whole under body rust thing. Especially on a new vehicle.

Having owned close to 12 trucks over the years both domestic and foreign, all had some minor surface rust in spots on the under body. Most dealers will laugh at you complaining about cosmetic issues on an under body structure. Had you not read the various threads and stuck your eyes under the truck, it was never an issue nor should it be now.

 

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Joined: Apr 2010, #35422
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Is Surface Rust Part Of Owning a Truck?

Only if your truck is used outside...

 

It's part of owning a vehicle period. Any bare metal that's not stainless will oxidize (aka rust). Part of keeping that under control are normal preventative maintence... keeping it sealed from oxygen. Some things like the hitch reciever... sand it and paint with some flat black works just fine. The frame, I'd remove all visable rust and POR15 it. Especially if you're in rust prone areas. Salt will eat away at it too... so in addition to POR15 or such, ensure you wash down and dry the underside in the winters (or if you head to the beach a lot). That's why most SoCal and AZ trucks are usually so clean... we might scratch them up but little water and virtually no rust minus the beach to worry about.

 

This is probably redundant and covered in other threads; I plan on trying to take care of my 09 Tacoma, unlike the 02 which I last washed sometime in 04. That one had quite a bit of rust on the frame flaking off, but not enough for a replacement.

There are a couple *light* spots of surface rust on the 09. I'm not concerned, I dare anyone to find a rust-free vehicle here in upstate NY. I was thinking of using a wire brush to scrape it off, then hitting the spot with some rust-proofing black paint. Any suggestions, and is this a good idea (I don't want to cause damage instead of preventing it).

 

Its a part of owning any vehicle in Buffalo.

Guam was also preatty bad.

 

It's unavoidable if you live anywhere that uses Magnesium Chloride on the roads in winter.